Ne'er Cast a Clout

The early show of daffodils around Betley Court has been brought to an abrupt halt by a blast of artic weather. It was freezing inside the house earlier, while we showed a new contractor around, as the remaining unglazed windows allowed snow and an icy wind through the rooms.  As the saying goes, “Ne’er cast a clout till May is out!”.

I had a bit of a disaster last week. The external hard drive that holds much of my Betley Court archive of photographs, articles etc, died; something to do with the mechanical part of the driver. I’ve taken it in to a local repair shop, and a computer expert is currently attempting to transfer all the files into a brand-new hard drive. I’m a bit nervous as there is no guarantee that they will be successful, and I’m trying not to worry bout what I’ll do if this transfer fails.

In the meantime, what should I write about for the blog? As luck would have it, I received a lovely email from Shirley Kennerley at Betley Local History Society containing archive photos of Betley Court Gardens. She thought they’d come via Rhoda Farrington, and I asked if it would be alright to share them here this week?

What I’ve tried to do is work out where the photos where taken, and when possible photograph how they appear today.

Photo 1.

Woman under an arched gateway to the walled garden

Woman in the arched gateway

The arch in the photo still exists. It is part of the former walled garden (now the private road Court Walk). The woman is unknown to me, but she is standing at the large entrance to the walled kitchen and flower garden from the formal gardens around the house. A range of garages were built in the late 1970s by my late in-laws Professor Godfrey and Dr Freda Brown.

Top of the arch peeping over the modern garages

The other side of the arch in the walled flower garden

Photo 2.

Woman at gated entrance to walled flower garden

Woman at the gates to the walled flower garden

The gate from the other side (Brown family archive, from Rosemary Leath, Head Gardener Mr Leath's daughter)

Another unknown woman, standing at a gated entrance to the walled flower garden. Behind her, Betley Court’s former stable block and clock tower can be seen. The stable block later became the gymnasium for Betley Court Rehabilitation Centre (1948-65) before being sold by the last Squire of Betley, Captain Charles Fletcher-Twemlow to building developers. It is now two private homes. Matching ironwork to the gate in the photo can still be seen on Main Road, leading to the Clock House.

Photo 3.

Bluebell Wood, 1927

Bluebell Woods, dated 1927

We’re lucky with this photo as it is captioned and dated on the back. The stream is Tanhouse Brook, that runs through Betley Court Gardens. The banks are now much steeper, as for decades, a set of badgers inhabited it, digging out tonnes of spoil.

Photo 4.

Postcard, Barron's Parterre

Barron's Parterre

This is an image from a postcard showing William Barron’s Italianate parterre (pattern in the earth) a geometric ornamental garden style popular in the Victorian era. Barron created this in 1865, and it remained until around 1919. The sundial is still present in the current design. It is interesting to compare the newly completed post-fire roof line with that of c. 1865. The chimney to the left of picture, over Royd’s House has disappeared.

Betley Court 9th March 2023 (photo: Ladybird Su/Su Hurrell)

Photo 5.

Gathering at the Sundial

Gathering of people with sundial

This group of people seem to be admiring the new sundial. This is not the one that currently sits on the formal lawns – it is a different shape. I’m 99% sure it was taken outside Royds House, although the window configuration confused me at first. At a guess, when the chimney, flue and fire place was removed (see previous photo), the windows could have been reconfigured. Indeed, Royd’s House has a an arrangement of windows that protrudes from the house, that give lovely views out over the gardens. Perhaps, the installation of these windows necessitated the removal of the chimney and fireplace?

Royds House in the snow today (photo: Ladybird Su/Su Hurrell)

A big thank you to everyone at Betley Local History Society, for providing the photos for this post. It is wonderful when little historic gems come to light! And handy when the contents of a hard drive become inaccessible!

Just a reminder that later this month, 25+26th March, we are conducting another series of restoration tours of Betley Court. Tickets are £10 for a guided tour with a member of the Brown family, and includes a beverage and snack in the visitors’ hub, and access to the gardens. Tickets can be found at:

www.betleycourtgardens.co.uk/events

Hope to see you there!

All best wishes

Ladybird Su